[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist":3,"chapter-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-675":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1532582,1991,"Chapter 675: 675: Divine Game – Chaotic Blocks 66","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-675",675,"\u003Cp>Rita recalled the maze rules. They only mentioned that the maze would open on the hour, with a 3-minute window to enter, but didn't specify the number of players allowed in:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many players do you estimate can get in within three minutes, based on the mechanical race's ticket-scanning speed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>B8017913 replied, \"Last round, 79 players got in within under 2 minutes. After that, the gate stayed empty for over a minute before closing. If all players prep their Blocks in advance before the game starts, conservatively, 150 players could make it in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The music and spotlight issues were resolved, and she was now disguised. Even when the effect of [No Logic] ended, as long as no one could track her down, she wouldn't need to panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a battle happening up ahead. After telling B8017913 to keep monitoring, Rita stepped back a few meters and dropped the map fragment from her mouth into a corner at the turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spot was blatantly obvious—textbook bait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she had time, she would've placed it at the location where she found her first map piece. But that wasn't an option—this round only had 7 minutes left. After that, the map would shift and fragments would expire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No player would seriously search for a lost fragment this late into the round. If she hid it too well, no one might find it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this sense, placing it somewhere obvious could actually work in reverse. Because time was nearly up, players who had given up collecting fragments might just ignore it completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After planting the bait, Rita left the corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had barely run a few steps when she bumped into a group of players fighting their way in this direction. She immediately turned and ran back the way she came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was quickly caught by a drag skill and yanked into the battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, [Mysterious Power] was still active, and three of these players had previously attacked her. Since she was already here, Rita decided to take advantage of the chaos and leech a bit—throwing out occasional attacks to both sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn't kill anyone, and no one could kill her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking this opportunity, she activated [Magical Echo] to begin regenerating mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight gradually shifted closer to where Rita had left the map fragment. Coincidentally, the brawling group she'd been tracking also neared that location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita carefully moved toward the spot herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drawing on her years of acting experience, she convinced herself first: she was just a player who'd noticed the map piece, wanted to grab it, but was trying not to draw attention and get others involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most players here were Tier 15. A few Tier 14s like her had been thrown in just for being too good. Their awareness was sharp—about 80% of them spotted the map fragment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With just 3 minutes left in the round, the fragment didn't mean much anymore, but after noticing Rita's movement, the two players closest to it went for it. It was a simple task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That familiar voice rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—\"The Free Stuff Always Costs the Most.!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hook set. Fish caught. Rita stayed in the brawl a minute longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 11:59, she let out a loud, \"Meowww~~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the players suddenly froze mid-fight and turned to look at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Meow-meow~~\" \"Meow-meow~~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this was what it felt like to be a cat and hear every living thing around you meowing back. It was terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita took off immediately. Once she reached a quiet spot, she summoned the deep-blue helm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she could turn it with her mind, she found it more ceremonial to press a fluffy cat paw against the helm and give it a gentle spin. Instantly, she left the battlefield and appeared in the Ferris wheel cabin she'd previously visited in February Theme Park.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With just 10 seconds left before the map fragments expired and refreshed, she focused her mind and stepped into the room again, approaching the scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'12:00'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A breeze blew through February Theme Park. Even outside the maze, in a different Month Theme Park, Rita still had to pay double the game fee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her hopes of reducing spending were dashed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apparently, game rules followed game eligibility. Without a ticket, you weren't registered for the game, even if you entered the map—you couldn't read the rules or participate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once you paid with Blocks, even if you left the map via other means, the rules would still follow you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And her [Don't Ask Me What Potions Are] was gone!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She remembered Verdant Whisper · Windrush using \"Asset Transfer\" on her and wondered if that fragment had been sent to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn't go check the vending machines herself. Public areas enforced absolute rules that canceled all active skills. She couldn't risk losing [There's a Cat Here], and if she left, how would she get back into the maze?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, she had people on the outside. Rita said, \"Keep your eyes on the maze entrance. Count how many players go in. Once the gate closes, check the exchange for [Don't Ask Me What Potions Are] to see if it's been listed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>B8017913: \"Got it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita returned to a tree inside the maze and, with a paw, scooped up the compensation she'd just received—[Hallucinogenic Mushroom Spray] (1\u002F3).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That player had plenty of great stuff. Seven-piece and nine-piece sets, even two complete nine-piece artifacts. Far wealthier than she was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to test the skill's limits, Rita had chosen a single piece from a three-piece set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had cost her just 550 gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, it was 500—but a notice said the compensation had been converted to the other player's world currency, with a 50-gold service fee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>180 attribute points — 10,000 gold — 500 gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three levels of compensation price tags: nine-piece, five-piece, three-piece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There might be some price fluctuation depending on item rarity, but this seemed to be the basic framework.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she only wanted Blocks or random items, this skill wasn't better than [I Just Want to Improve So Badly]—it required payment and negotiation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when she needed something specific, this skill was absolutely gold-tier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially while under the [Mysterious Power] effect—it offset her criminal tendencies quite nicely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maze entrance closed, and the game restarted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'12:01' — [Owl Got Lost] came off cooldown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Mysterious Power] only had 49 hits left—far from enough to handle the flood of new players entering the maze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Distorting recognition could stop people from targeting her, but it wouldn't stop them from attacking her at random.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, after she used a disguise, [No Logic] started to backfire. Since no one knew who held the Divine Relic, the first instinct was to kill any unfamiliar cat on sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So instead of distorting perception, survival skills took priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita used [Owl Got Lost] to transfer [Mysterious Power]'s remaining cooldown onto a rarely used SSS-tier offensive skill.\u003C\u002Fp>",1141,"2026-06-06T06:15:14.803Z",1,"novelbin.me","6e328446cf9e66fabff93930e652859052b8be7cb38c8807b8e50a9cb9867118","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-676","this-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-chapter-674",1404,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthis-life-i-will-be-the-protagonist-cover.jpg"]